El Paso public safety officials are featured in videos promoting the city’s contract with a Chinese drone manufacturer that is under review by the United States as a possible national security threat.
The company, DJI Technologies, promoted the contract on social media posts and videos in recent weeks. The videos prominently feature El Paso public safety officials, including Fire Chief Jonathan Killings, talking about the city’s partnership with DJI. Killings previously highlighted the partnership with the Chinese dronemaker in a LinkedIn post.
“The coordination between the Police Department, fire, and airport helps us combine resources, eliminate the duplication of effort, and it makes it more cost-effective. It’s a better use of the citizens’ tax dollars,” police Sgt. Cory Balke says in the video posted on DJI Technologies’ YouTube page.
Officials with the city of El Paso did not immediately respond to requests for comment from El Paso Matters about whether city officials were aware of concerns raised about DJI and national security. A spokesperson for the city said the Police Department planned to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the issue.
DJI Technologies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from El Paso Matters.
However, it denounced the calls for investigation last year as the NDAA made its way through Congress.
“The proposed bill sets a dangerous precedent for allowing baseless allegations and xenophobic fears to drive public policy decisions that could negatively impact public safety and the U.S. economy,” the company said in a statement.
The company also faced U.S. sanctions from the Commerce and Treasury departments in 2020 and 2021 that barred the sale of its products in the country.
Chinese-made drone technology has long been a source of concern for U.S. national security officials. The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act mandates a review of DJI and another Chinese drone manufacturer, Autel Robotics.
The NDAA, which funds the military and other national security activities, included this provision when passed in December 2024: “Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, an appropriate national security agency shall determine if any of the following communications or video surveillance equipment or services pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons: (A) Communications or video surveillance equipment produced by Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited (commonly known as ‘DJI Technologies’). (B) Communications or video surveillance equipment produced by Autel Robotics.”
El Paso Matters couldn’t immediately determine which national security agency, if any, was conducting the investigation. If no investigation was completed within a year of the enactment of the bill, the two companies would no longer be able to sell their products in the United States.
In addition to Killings and Balke, the DJI YouTube video also features El Paso International Airport Security Manager Willie Paris and Joel Martinez, the information technology manager for the El Paso Police Department.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The post El Paso public safety officials featured in videos by Chinese dronemaker under U.S. national security review appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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